This invention relates to the imprinting of moving surfaces by a printer having a rotatable printing wheel to which ink is transferred from an ink storage through a rotating ink transfer roller.
Printers of the foregoing type are already well known as disclosed in prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,361,062, 3,457,854 and 3,662,682 owned by the assignee of the present application. U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,062 to Proctor features means for angularly adjusting and orientating the transfer roller relative to the print wheelfor proper transfer of ink. U.S. Pat. No. 3,457,854 to Marozzi is addressed to the problem of regulating the quantity of ink being transferred by adjusting an excess ink wiper arrangement associated with the transfer roller. The storage of a fast drying ink within a replaceable ink storing cartridge, is featured in U.S. Pat. No. 3,662,682 to Marozzi. Several problems are associated with the foregoing type of printer, including rapid wear of parts causing vibration, deterioration of performance, and a rapid depletion of ink.
It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide an improved printer for imprinting moving surfaces of articles, packaging film or the like at spaced locations thereon with a relatively fast drying ink for longer, uninterrupted operational periods with acceptable printing quality.